Golconda diamonds are mined in the Godavari-Krishna delta region of Andhra Pradesh, India. Golconda Fort in the western part of modern-day Hyderabad was a seat of the Golconda Sultanate and became an important centre for diamond enhancement, lapidary, and trading. Golconda diamonds are graded as Type IIa, are formed of pure carbon, are devoid of nitrogen, and are large with high clarity. They are often described as diamonds of the first water, making them among history's most-celebrated diamonds. The phrase "Golconda diamond" became synonymous with diamonds of incomparable quality.
For 2,000 years, Golconda diamonds were the only known fine diamonds. Due to centuries of excessive mining, their production was exhausted by 1830, and gemologists and traders have classified Golconda diamonds as antique, rare and precious. Famous Golconda diamonds include the colourless Koh-i-Noor, the Nassak Diamond, the blue Hope Diamond, the Idol's Eye, the pink Daria-i-Noor, the white Regent Diamond, the Dresden Green Diamond, the colourless Orlov Diamond and the yellow Florentine Diamond, as well as now-untraceable diamonds such as the Akbar Shah, the Nizam Diamond, and the Great Mogul Diamond.
The Golconda diamond industry was at its peak from the 16th to 18th centuries when 23 mines, of which Kollur Mine was the most active, operated in the region with 30,000 people at a time working in one mine. The output from all of the mines in Golconda is estimated to be around . In 2015, Osmania University in collaboration with Geological Survey of India discovered potential new sites for diamond mining in the region, though mining had not started.
Several literary legends were inspired by Golconda diamonds; these include Sindbad the Sailor's valley of diamonds, the gem lore of Marco Polo, and the theme of Russell Conwell's inspirational lecture "Acres of Diamonds". According to folklore, some Golconda diamonds are cursed; these impart good luck to their owners or have mystical powers while others were worn as talismans. In 2013, the Princie Diamond from the Jewels of the Nizams was auctioned for 39.3 million—the highest-recorded auction price for Golconda Diamonds and the world record for 1.1 million per carat. In a heist in 2019, the Dresden White Diamond was stolen along with jewels worth 1.2 billion.
Geology The Golconda diamondiferous region is located in the Southern Indian peninsular shield, which was formed during the process of proterozoic and Insular India. The region is spread over , within the sediments of the Krishna-Pennar river basin and Deccan Traps, and contains 120 out of the 150 kimberlite pipes in India. Though kimberlite and lamproite are the primary rock source, conglomerate and placers had yielded the majority of the region's diamonds. The Geological Survey of India has categorized kimberlite pipes of southern India into clusters Southern Wajrakarur kimberlite, Northern Narayanpet kimberlite, and Central Raichur kimberlite of these, the Timmasamudram kimberlite cluster—a part of Southern Wajrakarur kimberlite—is significant.
History
Mediaeval records from Europe and the Middle East show India's importance as a source of high-quality diamonds. According to jewellery historian Jack Ogden, these records include those of Pliny the Elder, Marco Polo, Muhammed al-Idrisi, Ahmad al-Tifashi, and others from before the 12th century. The records state India produced diamonds with "which the gems were engraved". Ancient texts of Buddhists, Hindus, and Jains such as the Arthashastra (2nd century BCE – 4th century CE), the Ratna Pariksha, and the Puranas refer to cities and regions of India that produced diamonds. Roman historian Pliny the Elder (23–79 CE) in his encyclopedia described the demand and fondness of Roman imperial women for the diamonds of South India. The tales of Sinbad the Sailor's voyages, added to the folk tales collection One Thousand and One Nights (Arabian Nights, Alf Laila Wa Laila, or Alif Laila) in the 17th or 18th centuries, describe the Valley of the Diamonds. These regional descriptions have the same features of Deccan in general and the Golconda region in particular. These names are difficult to link to modern geographic names.
Until the 17th century, mines in this region was the largest source of diamonds on Earth. The Garudapuraṇa, Rasapaddhati, Agastyasaṃhitā and Bṛhatsaṃhitās all give lists of diamond mines across the Indian subcontinent. According to the records of 18th-and-19th-century geologists, researchers, and traders, the region south of the Kurnool district near the Krishna River valley in and around NTR district, Palnadu, and Guntur; the Godavari delta in Rampachodavaram and Bhadrachalam; north-eastern Madhya Pradesh; eastern Chhattisgarh; western Jharkhand; and north-western Odisha are possible historical sources of diamond. The best-known region among these was historically known as Telingana or Tilling, and was renamed Golconda during the Deccan sultanates period and generally known as the Godavari delta. As European travellers and traders increasingly engaged in trading with producers of this region, the region's diamonds came to be referred to as "Golconda diamonds".
Mining
The peak period of Golconda diamond mining was the 16th-to-18th centuries, when the region was controlled by the Golconda Sultanate and the Nizams of Hyderabad. The mines were leased under the supervision of regional governors, of whom prominent 17th-century diamond trader Mir Jumla became the Grand vizier (Prime Minister) of the Golconda Sultanate. He established a network of diamond merchants in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia—up to China and the Malay Archipelago. Shantidas Jhaveri was another 17th-century diamond trader.
Golconda diamonds were mined from alluvial soils alongside river beds. Mines were usually up to deep. When mining reached groundwater, digging was halted. Stony substances were then collected for assortment and examined for diamonds. Raw diamonds from the mines were typically transported to Golconda—now the western part of Hyderabad— for skilled lapidary, enhancement, further evaluation, and sale. The art of macle, which is a form of rough diamond that is used to produce jewellery, was first developed in the Golconda region. Of the 38 diamond mines in India at the time, 23 were located in the Golconda Sultanate, of which Kollur Mine was prominent and employed 60,000 workers at one time. Most of these mines were fully active until 1830 but were gradually abandoned as they became either submerged by the backwaters of the Pulichintala irrigation dam or became depleted. Diamond mining in the region gradually declined and finally officially closed.
In 2015, the Centre of Exploration Geophysics of Osmania University and the Geological Survey of India (GSI) conducted research that identified three zones that contain 21 potential new diamond-mining sites near the delta of the Krishna and Bhima rivers, and in the beds of the Krishna, Tungabhadra and Penna rivers. According to the research, the sites contain volcanic pipes that probably bear kimberlite and possibly diamonds. According to Outlook India, in 2022, some companies applied for mining rights in the region of Andhra Pradesh, soon after the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) discovered diamond deposits in the seven districts of the state.
Trading The Golconda region was a major trading centre and the source of the world's most-famous diamonds. Until the end of the 19th century, it was the primary source of the finest and largest diamonds in the world, making the name "Golconda diamond" synonymous with high-quality diamonds. It has been estimated the Golconda region traded around 10 million carats of diamonds. A unit of measurement for Golconda diamonds was the Ratti ( of a carat), and the most-common currency was the Golconda Pagoda, which was also called Hun.
Golconda had been trading diamonds with European kingdoms since at least the days of Marco Polo (1254–1324). During the 1420s, Niccolò de' Conti, a prominent Italian traveller and merchant who lived in India, had a detailed account of diamond valleys in the Golconda region. The 15th-century Portuguese discovery of the sea route to India and the 16th-century Golconda Sultanate's new port at Machilipatnam increased the production and trade of Golconda diamonds. The emergence of demand for Golconda diamonds led to the exploration and discoveries of mines in the region that produced brilliant diamonds.
In the 17th century, under the Golconda Sultanate, when new mines were discovered and leased to the miners, an agreement called "Qaul" would be signed under the supervision of regional governors, according to which, for employing 100 workers, miners would pay four pagodas per day, and monthly rent was based on the strength of the workers on the mining site. Provisions were supplied only by the governor with 50 percent extra excise duty. Large diamonds from the site were exclusively reserved for the rulers and to be sold with concessions. Bania and Khatri castes—merchant and trading communities in India—held most of mines. In the early 1600s, some Dutch miners of the Dutch East India Company were granted mining rights. The 17th-century French explorer Jean-Baptiste Tavernier reported he was "permitted to examine" the egg-shaped Great Moghul diamond, which is now lost and said to have been cut into smaller diamonds. He reported having seen a flat diamond called the Great Table diamond in Golconda. Jean de Thévenot, François Bernier or Antoine Destremau were French traders in Golconda diamonds.
In 1621 and 1622, when the Golconda rulers learned about the demand for Golconda diamonds in Europe, they seized all of the mines and temporarily halted mining to increase the price, which then doubled. In 1627, high prices led Dutch traders to stop purchasing, and the British East India Company brought investments and purchased the diamonds. The company's monopoly continued alongside indigenous traders such as Mir Jumla II, Virji Vora, and Kasi Veranna until the mines became depleted in the 1830s. Most of the impoverished governments and princely rulers were removed from power, forcing them sell their jewels—including Golconda diamonds—which were later auctioned. Due to their royal lineage, mystical tales, and advertising campaigns by companies, Golconda diamonds became the global status reference.
Paradesi Jews of Madras (now Chennai) traded in Golconda diamonds, precious stones, and corals. They had very good relations with the rulers of Golkonda because they maintained trade connections to some foreign countries (e.g. Ottoman Empire, Europe), and their language skills were useful. Although the Sephardim spoke Ladino (i.e. Judeo-Spanish), in India they learned Tamil and Konkani as well as Judeo-Malayalam from the Cochin Jews, also known as Malabar Jews.Katz 2000; Koder 1973; Thomas Puthiakunnel 1973
Jacques de Paiva (Jaime Paiva) Paradesi Jews, established good relations with East India Company (EIC) and those in power, which enabled him to buy several mines to source Golconda diamonds. Through his efforts, Jews were permitted to live and trade Golconda diamonds and corals within Fort St. George. De Paiva died in 1687 after a visit to his mines of Golconda diamonds and was buried in the Jewish cemetery which he had established in Peddanaickenpet, which later became the north Mint Street, alongside the synagogue which also existed at Mint Street. On his tombstone we find that he died in the month of Tishri 5548 / 1687 CE.
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